Alcohol: The Good, The Bad and the ?

As the title says some of the issues about alcohol are not as clear as some might think. To start with these drinks are developed to taste nice and they have some very positive effects when consumed. However there are other effects that many are not aware of that have the opposite effect on the body.

In this blog we will look at some of the effects on the body that many will not be aware of. Some are short term, others have far longer lasting effects. We will also look at the way that people drink and the situations that they may find themselves in.

Head or Heart

Drinking too much over a long period of time or on a single occasion, can be very detrimental to your health, here are some of the effects on various parts of the body.

The Brain

Alcohol influences the brain by interfering with the communication pathways and therefore can affect the way the brain looks and works. These effects can cause mood swings and changes in behaviour and make it harder to think and reason clearly and effects coordination and balance. While in the short term that tipsy feeling can be very enjoyable, the longer term is not so fun.

Stroke – this is a condition where there is a blockage in the blood vessels in the brain which causes damage to the brain tissue which can cause paralysis, loss of speech or even death.

The Heart

While a few drinks can lead you to love everyone, drinking alcohol in excess can cause the following problems with the heart:

Cardiomyopathy – This causes stretching and drooping of the heart muscle which disrupts the way the heart can pump blood around the body.

Research has shown that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may protect healthy adults from coronary heart disease. Sadly this is only one unit a day, and any more than that significantly increases the risk of damage.

Arrhythmias – This is an irregular heart beat which means that the flow of blood is distrusted at times. It might not be that you're standing next to a very attractive person 😉

High blood pressure – this can cause stress to all the organs of the body including the brain, which could lead to organ shut down or a stroke.

And there's more..........

After all that joyful news, here's some more to swallow if you're brave enough.......

The Liver

Heavy drinking can have a toll on the liver and lead to a verity of problems and liver inflammations including:

Fibrosis is the first stage of liver scaring which stops the normal function of the liver.

Steatosis which is Fatty Liver. This is a not an irreversible condition but is usually a precursor to Cirrhosis, which isn't.

Cirrhosis is the later stages of liver scarring which can lead to other illnesses such as Hepatitis C.

Liver Hepatitis which is an infection in the liver that does not allow the liver to do its job and filter the blood properly.

The Pancreas

Alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substance that can eventually leads to pancreatitis, a dangerous, painful inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents digestion. If drinking isn't stopped it can be irreversible.

Cancer

Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of developing certain cancers, including cancers of the:

Mouth

Oesophagus

Throat

Liver

Breast

And last but not least

Immune system

Drinking in excess can weaken your immune system, making your body more susceptible to diseases. Chronic drinkers are more likely to contract diseases such as Pneumonia and Tuberculosis than people who do not drink so much.

Drinking a lot on a single occasion slows your body’s ability to ward of infections, even 24 hours after drinking. So watch out who you kiss after a good night out... you never know what germs you might pick up 😉

We haven't even touched on the teeth enamel erosion from vomiting, damage to the throat and dehydration effects. In conclusion excessive drinking causes so many different problems in your body we recommend that if you are going to drink think hard about the amount you are going to intake and how often.

This way you can enjoy a night out or a party and still stay healthy and be able to cope the next day without any unforeseen pain and discomfort.

We at IDH Training want to encourage a healthy life style and to enjoy life without any of the above effects of alcohol.

For more information about this and other subjects visit our website or Facebook page for more information.